Svyatoslav Pegov, Director of the Center for Sports Programming, Algorithmic Robotics and Cybersports at the Ufa University of Science and Technology, told RuNews24.ru how this can help mitigate the bias with which many Russians approach cybersports.
Despite the fact that the sport has been around for eight years, there are still a significant number of people who do not take cybersports seriously.
Chess, with its reputation as an intellectual sport, can create a symbiosis with cybersports. By embedding itself in pop culture, it can increase interest in cybersports, which in turn can be recognized at the level of respected sports disciplines. Anton Kuzin, founder of the Russian Chess School, expressed confidence that the integration of chess into cybersport will be extremely positive.
“Online chess competitions already attract more participants than offline tournaments, and thanks to the cybersport audience, spectator coverage of chess events can increase significantly,” the expert believes.
At one point an interesting discussion arose about what young athletes should choose - MOBA or chess. Specialists noted that both directions do not compete, but complement each other. For example, successful Dota 2 players usually possess skills that develop chess thinking, including strategic and variant thinking, situation analysis and quick reaction.
Alexander Gorbachenko, director of the Intercontinental Cybersports League, emphasized that chess can be considered the progenitor of many cybersports disciplines focused on logic and strategy. “Involvement of the cybersport audience in chess competitions will contribute to the growth of interest in both sports. Thus, chess and cybersport have the opportunity to develop together, enriching each other and contributing to the development of cognitive skills in players,” shared Andrey Gorbachenko's opinion.